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May 19, 2025 11 mins
The LHP from Shelbourne, VT appeared on The Rob Dibble Show ahead of UConn-Northeastern Baseball at Elliot Ballpark, Tuesday, May 13th 
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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, we're back on the Rob Devill Show Ben
Dartell live from Elliott Ballpark. Now we've got Oliver Budvar,
he's starting pitcher for the Yukon Husky, sitting in with
this and we're just talking about the technology and it's amazing.
So tell us about like, you know, Josh McDonald and
the manager can talk to you guys during the game
and call pitches and stuff like that, but everybody on

(00:23):
defense can hear the pitch. Yeah, we're talking about that.
You know how hard it was when I played, and
this is thirty years ago trying to get guys to
play defense. You're yelling at him from the dugout, you're
actually giving things away stuff like that. How much does
that help you with everybody being on the same page.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Yeah, I mean it definitely makes everything more smooth. The
one issue I guess with it is like some people
will like position themselves a little.

Speaker 3 (00:50):
Too early and then give it away. Yeah, so that's
the only issue we've really seen with it.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
But other than that, as a pitcher, I mean, being
able to hear what I'm gonna have to throw, just
like in my hat is just like it makes it
so easy and It just kind of dumbs the game
down and makes it so easy to just go out
there and just focus on throwing.

Speaker 4 (01:10):
You've been kicking.

Speaker 5 (01:10):
But the one thing we love about you as broadcasters
is you work fast, man. I mean, there is no
dead time when you are on the mound. I'm sure
the PitchCom helps with that as well. Is that something
that you've always been doing because it doesn't feel like
you even pay attention to the pitch clock, like it's
not even a factor in your in your mind.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Yeah, I mean I've always liked to work quick. I
think that it helps the position players and it helps them. Yeah,
I want to play behind you, and you know, I
don't want to be a Randola out there, and I
don't think anybody wants to watch that either, So I
think it just just helps everybody if I'm moving quick.

Speaker 1 (01:44):
So you're coming off Tommy John surgery. What was that like,
you know, coming off the surgery, healing and then what
was it like the first couple of months getting back
out there.

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Yeah, I mean it was it was a grind. It
was a full year of recovery. But like you know,
the whole time you're thinking about just getting back out there,
so once you got back out there, it was just
go time. And and you know, I take everything, you know,
I don't take anything for granted out there, and I'm
just super grateful to be such a good spot like Yukon.

Speaker 5 (02:16):
Yeah, we were talking to Olivier Pudvar about his beginnings
at Manhattan before you came here. Obviously, Stores is a
little bit different than what you were dealing with at
Manhattan as far as that, but then you work yourself
into the you know, first starter on the weekend too,
and building great record with a great era and a
staff that was kind of sputtering, and you really found
a spot like how long has it taken? And coming

(02:37):
off with Tommy John, Like there's a lot of different
changes in your world and your baseball career. How were
you able to focus and settle down and get to
where you're at right now?

Speaker 2 (02:45):
I mean to be honest, like, I had no thought
of being, you know, the Friday guy when I came here,
But you know, I've just been working super hard getting
back and I think it's honestly helped, you know, I
take it, you know, as a blessing in disguise for
getting the injury, because it really made me focus on

(03:07):
my recovery, my rehab and all that, and I've really
started to take the game serious, and so I think
that it actually helped in a sense to get the
surgery when I did, and in such a you know,
a good spot here, and you know, everything just kind
of kind of worked and fit together at when it did.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
A lot of guys when they get hurt, it tightens
up their delivery. When they come back, they maybe pick
up a different pitch. Did you come up with another
pitch or did it help your delivery and throwing more
strikes or anything. Did it help you in any way?

Speaker 2 (03:39):
I dropped a pitch. I dropped my curveball. I just
it was kind of similar to my slider, and I
noticed that looking back at my freshman year at Manhattan,
it was the pitch that I was kind of giving
up some bombs to. So I just kind of scrapped
it and just really focused on my fastball, slider, change

(04:00):
up and try to make them as good as I
as I could make them. And and I've really been
working on the change up for sure, and making that
pitch that I can throw whenever.

Speaker 5 (04:10):
You're kind of chilling today, you don't have a start,
you're not on, you're not hot. You will be pitching
on Thursday when we start a series against Maine. What
do you do on days like today when you're just
kind of chilling in the dug out of the bullpen.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
Yeah, I mean I got in here and got a
lift in and then did some running, you know, short running.
I don't I don't love running, so I kept it short.
But yeah, I already got most of the work I
have to do today already in uh So now I
kind of just hang out and cheer on the fellas
and I'll get my throwing in before before the game.

(04:43):
But then, you know, just just be the best teammate
I can be for the game.

Speaker 5 (04:46):
You guys give tips and see maybe focus in on
some Matt bats. Maybe you have a history against a
certain guy, do you give you know, what do you
call it little ants? Little ant chat information, information chats,
share information.

Speaker 3 (04:58):
Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 2 (04:58):
I mean we've played the guys already this year, and
they're a Northeast team, so we know a lot of
the guys on the team as well, so you know,
guys have picked stuff up from summer ball and stuff
like that. So yeah, definitely, try and help out as
much as we can throughout the game.

Speaker 1 (05:14):
Talking to Olivier Pudvar, he's one of the best starting
pitchers on University Connecticut. Talk about the recruitment process. I mean,
did you come here check out the field? You know,
what was one of the things that that got you
to leave Manhattan and come to Yukon.

Speaker 4 (05:28):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
I've actually got a pretty interesting story with this. So
after my sophomore year at Manhattan and I decided to
enter the portal once twenty six other guys on the
team entered the portal.

Speaker 3 (05:40):
Which was yeah, pretty much the whole team.

Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, I think it was the highest in Division One
for guys to enter the portal. And got in the portal,
I went in and I was kind of halfway through,
you know, recovering from Tommy John still, so I couldn't throw,
so I wasn't really talking to anybody. And then my
buddy from Manhattan, actually Greg Shaw, he committed here, and

(06:05):
then Coach Mack asked him if he knew anybody else
in the portal that, you know, he thinks they should
give a look to. Thankfully, he said my name, uh,
and so Coach Mack reached out and I took a
phone call with him. Uh it went good enough for
him to ask me to come here and went on

(06:26):
a went on a visit, and I mean, it's it's
it's a tough place to say no to. So it
was it was kind of a no brainer for me
once I once I visited here.

Speaker 5 (06:34):
Unreal man, and in a short amount of time, like
it's just a snap of the fingers and yeah, you're
kicking butt right now. Now, all right, pud Bar, This
man right here has built his career on intimidation. Now
you look like such a nice lad, almost too nice,
pud Bar. Maybe if we do like a skull and
crossbones in the middle of your glasses, like you know,

(06:54):
Ricky may cause you're gonna get a Friday start with
some serious, you know implication. Some big East is coming up,
Regionals is coming up, Super Regionals is coming up. I
need like a killer thing in pudd Bars, like maybe
you bring your hat down. I see a little mohawk action.
What else can we work with here to get some
intimidation factor for pud Bar?

Speaker 3 (07:15):
Well, I mean I kind of like to surprise them,
Like I I like to look to.

Speaker 5 (07:20):
Look like the nice lad and then blow their doors. Yeah, exactly,
I love this technique totally. All right, talk about the glasses, man,
those are Oakley's, Those are prescription. When did we start
playing with glasses and why do you go glasses instead
of contact?

Speaker 2 (07:34):
Yeah, it was at the beginning of high school. I
noticed I couldn't really see the board uh in school,
and the board was basically, uh, you know, the same
distance then the pictures mount to the to home plate.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
Uh.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
So I was noticing that when I was looking in
and getting the signs from catchers as well, I couldn't
really see see their hands as well as I should
have been able to. So I decided to get the
eyes checked. I needed glasses, uh. And I used to
wear the ones that went all the way around like
the rex bes. But you know, I got some chirps

(08:08):
for wearing those, so.

Speaker 5 (08:10):
They didn't work with Mayby were blowing their doors off,
like all this geek with glasses, I'm gonna blow a
home run right past and then all of a sudden
he strikes out.

Speaker 2 (08:18):
Yeah, but so I kind of recently recently switched to
these nice I like him.

Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, so I.

Speaker 2 (08:24):
Know Joe Kelly wears them, so he's a he's a
pretty pretty cool guy. So I think, I, you know,
I can you wear contacts, but I don't know.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
I like the style of them.

Speaker 4 (08:35):
Where do you hail from? Where's home?

Speaker 3 (08:37):
Vermont?

Speaker 4 (08:38):
Vermont? Do you do up there? Do you hunt your golf?
What do you do about?

Speaker 3 (08:42):
Nothing? Nothing?

Speaker 4 (08:45):
Anything?

Speaker 2 (08:45):
Like I own a company. I own a sunflower seed company.

Speaker 1 (08:48):
Actually really yeah serious.

Speaker 5 (08:54):
In the seednflower Seeds, it says chips.

Speaker 4 (08:59):
How do you own in this company? But it's Chips.

Speaker 3 (09:01):
Well that's my buddy's name, Chip. His real name's Chase.

Speaker 4 (09:05):
But yeah, we had some of these. Yea, go ahead, Chip.

Speaker 2 (09:08):
Yeah, we started in high school and uh kind of
just started it like.

Speaker 4 (09:11):
For the class project. Fantastic.

Speaker 3 (09:14):
Yeah, we turned it into like a real.

Speaker 4 (09:16):
Company, better than maple syrup. I'm from Connecticut.

Speaker 5 (09:19):
That's a great idea, though, great idea, so obviously the
maple syrups from Vermont, that's what you guys are known for.
But I've never had maple syrup. Some flowers he's never
even thought about it.

Speaker 3 (09:29):
First ones in the world, So yeah, fas.

Speaker 4 (09:32):
Awesome, dude. That is so great.

Speaker 5 (09:34):
So is the rest of the team on Chips Sunflowers
or do we still have the old. What is it David's?
Is that the brand? That's competition? Man, that's a bad word.
So only chips at Yukon.

Speaker 2 (09:45):
Well, I was out of stock for a while, you know.
It's it was tough going to school. And also and.

Speaker 1 (09:50):
These are big, these are not like the competition who
I won't say their name.

Speaker 4 (09:55):
They have cheesy, little small ones. Oh, I'm with you.

Speaker 2 (09:58):
They're too salty and they don't have there you go.
So we we found a happy medium.

Speaker 4 (10:02):
Where do you find your seeds? Where do you get them?
Right now?

Speaker 2 (10:05):
We're getting them out of California, but but yeah, we're
trying to get a more locally sourced soon.

Speaker 4 (10:11):
And are you a business major?

Speaker 2 (10:12):
I'm I'm not here. No, I'm actually well, I'm an
economics major. So it's close enough. I couldn't get into
the business school transferring in, but yeah, I still I
still have, you know, made connections in the business school here.

Speaker 5 (10:24):
So all right, we've got to get to the guy
to put chips sunflower seeds at least on this campus
everywhere concessions day exactly.

Speaker 4 (10:34):
We got to get him with the Hertford yard.

Speaker 5 (10:35):
Guys, I agree, this is the beginning.

Speaker 4 (10:38):
Yeah, just got connections. Unreal.

Speaker 5 (10:41):
So are you planting any of these like around the country,
Like do you when you go to I don't know,
Puerto Rico and play stets in it you dropping like
ten bags here and there planting the seed.

Speaker 2 (10:52):
Yeah, well I had a couple buddies on Stetson, so
I I did give him a couple of bags and
brought them out to l A and and got some
got some connections out there. So yeah, trying to make
connections along the way as well.

Speaker 1 (11:04):
You're kicking but that is fantastic. But hey, good luck.
We don't want to get in your head too much.
This maybe a tattoo like who you are. You can
draw it. Just keep throwing strikes, man, keep getting out.
We had your pitching coach on he he loves for
you guys to just.

Speaker 4 (11:22):
Get out out. Collectors.

Speaker 1 (11:23):
Out collectors there you go, like bone collectors.

Speaker 4 (11:27):
That was me. It's a bit different back in my day.

Speaker 5 (11:30):
Yeah, thank you all, thank you for coming on.

Speaker 4 (11:35):
Good luck.
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